Child poverty in conflict-caused emergencies

Traditional monetary poverty measures inadequately capture the complexities of conflict-induced emergencies. This chapter proposes an extended Multidimensional Child Poverty (MDCP) definition sensitive to conflict-specific emergencies. In practice, a standard MDCP measure is expanded to include insecurity, legal status, and child protection aspects. Tested in East Mosul, immediately after its liberation in 2017, the enhanced measure reveals higher poverty rates, identifying 10 percent more children in extreme need than using a standard MDCP. The chapter urges the use of rapid assessment tools to gather pertinent information in such contexts, emphasizing the need for including data on mental health. The findings challenge the efficacy of humanitarian assistance, indicating it may not effectively target the most deprived. Effective targeting would require a nuanced understanding of vulnerability in conflict zones across types of vulnerable groups of children defined by gender and displacement status.